My Jewel - Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
by FantasyandHistory
Summary: We all know the story of how Alex Vreeke was sucked away from our world and into the game Jumanji. But what about when a character from the game gets sucked into our world... Full summary inside! (Russel Van PeltxOC) (Alex VreekexOC)
1. Characters

_Welcome everyone! :) So myself and another writer have teamed up and have started writing 'Jumanji' stories including each other's characters :) So Samara 'Sawyer' Adams and her avatar Dawn Dars are not my character, she belongs to the author! I'll also take this moment to say that I do not own 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle', only my character :) Thanks!_

 _Here's the full summary for this story:_

 **We all know the story of how Alex Vreeke was sucked away from our world and into the game Jumanji. But what about when a character from the game gets sucked into our world...**

 **My second 'Jumanji' story! Theresa Ross is a teaching assistant at Brantford High School and when she is put in charge of supervising five students in detention, she'll be sucked into the now video game jungle adventure. However, she finds herself separated from the group and with, just her luck, the villains of the game. You'd think that being sucked into a video game and landing amongst the bad guys would be bad enough, and without your memories - not to mention the lead villain seems to recognize her...**

 **When Sawyer Adams gets detention it takes a wild - literally - turn when she and her fellow four students get sucked into the video game Jumanji, where they'll face a vast array of animals, the game's villian trying to track them down, and a fellow game player who's been at this for a lot longer than anyone realized... (Russel Van PeltxOC) (Alex VreekexOC) I do not own 'Jumanji'!**

Characters 

Non-player Character

Daisy Ridley as Professor Theresa 'Terri' Ross

A sweet and charming, slightly clumsy professor and aspiring zoologist.

Skills: Climbing, fighting staff, good with animals, outdoorsy

Student

Samara 'Sawyer' Adams

Avatar

Dawn Dars

Strengths: mechanics, engine and plane fixing, speed

Weaknesses: heights, her glasses, alcohol


	2. Prologue - The Ghost of Brantford High

_Welcome to the first chapter! I hope you enjoy! :)_

Prologue - The Ghost of Brantford High

It all happened so fast - one moment she was there, and the next she was here. Brantford. It took some investigating to find out exactly where she was, and as soon as she did it didn't take long for her to realize she was in fact out of the game. It was frightening, to say the least, having only ever lived within the parameters of the game before and now, suddenly, her world was much bigger and much more vast.

She had been confused when suddenly, she had arrived in the bedroom of a boy, a green flicker still coming from the game console, the controls on the ground where the boy had dropped them, before being sucked away into the game. It took a while for her to realize this was what had happened, but as soon as she saw the word JUMANJI on the game in big, bright letters, she knew something had gone horribly, horribly wrong.

Pretty soon there came a knock at the bedroom door and it had opened - she had frozen, searching desperately for somewhere to hide. But when a middle-aged man peeked his head in the room and looked right at her, she realized he had looked right _through_ her. In other words, he hadn't seen her, she was invisible to him.

"Alex," he said. "Time to get up, Buddy." He came inside the room, looking puzzled when he found the bed was empty, and even more so when he saw the console. "Alex?" He stepped back out of the room and called down the hall, "Alex?"

She followed cautiously while he checked the hall and bathroom, but that was empty too. He went downstairs to the kitchen where his wife, she guessed, and Alex's mother, was sitting at the table reading the newspaper. "Honey, have you seen Alex?"

"He's not up yet."

"Well he's not in his room."

"What?"

She had taken her time exploring the Vreeke house, a warm, welcoming family home. There were family photographs everywhere, many of a young boy, who she guessed was Alex, the photos stopping at his teenage years. So teenage Alex had been sucked into the game. Seeing all these pictures of this happy, loving family only rekindled her want to have a family like this of her own someday.

She was there for it all, as confusion quickly grew into panic, and phone calls were made asking if anyone had seen their son. Finally, after many unsuccessful searches of their own, they called the police and Alex Vreeke was officially reported missing.

She was there for their heartbreak and fear, clinging onto that little bit of hope that their son would return to them, that he was safe, wherever he was. But she knew that if he really had been sucked into the game, as was becoming more and more apparent to her as time passed, he would be far from safe.

But if he really had been sucked into the game, how then, had she come to be here? Sure, the game was complex and complicated, she knew from living in it, often like it had a mind of its own and never kept anything consistent. But how? She eventually settled on it being a major glitch of some sort.

She stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Vreeke for a while, wishing she could be a source of some comfort and support to them in this difficult time. All of their heartbreak and pain only added to her own - she was far from home, in an unfamiliar place where she did not fit. She was away from everything and everyone she loved and everything familiar to her, and she had no way of contacting anyone or no way to go back. At night, when she would curl up alone and close her eyes, thinking back to her old life, she would always settle on an image of those dark yet warm eyes that she could easily get lost in, his eyes, and she would instantly feel better, at least for a little while.

Each time she thought of him it brought a smile to her face and filled her with warmth, followed quickly by a painful ache of longing to return to him and their life within the game. She was homesick, desperately so.

Did he feel this same way when he thought of her? She hoped so. But then she would recall their last conversation, before she had been sent here, all they had said, and she wished that they had been on better terms before she vanished.

She would replay that conversation over and over again in her head, feeling worse and worse about it the more she thought of it. She had basically accused him of favouring his work over them and she wholeheartedly regretted it. She knew that wasn't true - yes he had been busy and engrossed in his work lately, borderline obsessed - no, he had crossed that line, he was obsessed with it. And despite being as fed up and angry with it as she was, she hadn't meant what she said. Now she would give anything to see him again and tell him how she had not meant it.

She tried wandering around town, exploring it like she had the Vreeke house, and could around the neighbourhood, until she would become faint. After a few times of this she came to the conclusion that as she was a part of the game, she could not stray too far from it. So when the Vreekes packed up to move away and donated a bunch of their belongings to the school, the console included, she was brought to her next place, and where she would remain.

She felt like a ghost, present but not really seen. She would occasionally slam locker doors, brush papers from a desk onto the floor, and flicker the lights, just for fun, for her own amusement. And soon enough, rumours of the school being haunted and various stories of how the 'ghost of Brantford High' came to be.

But pretty soon, even spooking and pranking the students grew tedious and boring. Still, every year there were new students pouring through the doors, so she tried to learn their names and get to know them the best she could. What more could she do?

In the school she spent most of her time in the basement where the game console had been carelessly placed, someone unsure of what to do with it so they had just set it amongst a pile of other mixed items: old clothes, a bowling ball, a football helmet, and many others. It was a messy storage space for lost and unwanted things. She was lost, but she hoped she was not unwanted. Maybe here she was, but not back home.

If she wasn't in the basement she was usually in the biology classroom, pouring through the high-school level textbooks on different animal species, the closest to her familiar zoology. She clung onto hope.

That was until the memories began fading, and she started to grow desperate. _Someone just play the game already! Someone send me home - please..._ She needed to go back, to feel the warmth and welcome of their cozy London flat, to stand again in the bright classroom she taught in at the university, steeped in knowledge, to feel his comforting arms around her...

She tried to scout out potential players, brave and curious souls daring enough to try out the game. But time passed, and so did her memories. She clung to those memories - they were all she had.

Time passed, slowly, and it seemed to take her old self with it. She had been here for so long that she was now becoming a part of this world, this reality, different from her own, her old life rapidly slipping away from her. She was becoming _real_. And with no way to return, she was stuck, trapped. And she couldn't play the game herself, she had tried, many times. She always thought _maybe this time, maybe this time_. But it never worked, no matter how much she hoped.

It was becoming harder to hide, the more real she became, less a game character and more a real person. But people didn't ask too many questions, for she was becoming embedded in this world. So, she started working at the school. _This_ was her world now. She became Ms. Ross, teaching assistant, Professor Ross was gone. By then, all of her memories were gone too.

For twenty years she watched and waited, hoping someone would find the game and venture far enough to play it - after all, they knew no better, they would think they were just playing another video game. But no one did, and so she remained.

That is, until five students in detention finally unearthed the game.

 _Hello and welcome to 'My Jewel'! :) This story will be pretty different from my other 'Jumanji' story and I'm really excited about it! Hope you enjoyed the prologue - I was originally going to start it with the chapter coming next, but then had this idea and decided to roll with it, kind of starts it off on a more ominous note :) Thanks so much for reading, more coming soon!_


	3. It All Started in Detention

_Welcome back! I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)_

Chapter One - It All Started in Detention...

"Welcome to detention." The principal eyed the five students before him, none of who made eye contact.

Spencer raised his hand. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Thank you, for that."

"Principal Bentley, all I did was make one quick call-" Bethany tried to explain.

"Bethany please." The principal held up a hand for silence. "You're all here for a reason, you know what that is. What you really should be thinking about is who you are and who you want to be. Luckily, there's no better place for that reflection than detention." He then gestured to the young woman who the five noticed for the first time, standing off to the side. "This is Ms. Ross. You might recognize her as a teaching assistant here. She will be supervising you." Ms. Ross gave them a small smile in greeting. "Now let's go." All with a sigh, the five hauled themselves to their feet and followed him downstairs to the basement, Ms. Ross following behind them.

"We're in the process of making this a new computer centre," Principal Bentley explained. "But we need to clean it out first. These magazines-" He gestured to the large bins full of them. "-Need to be prepped for recycling - it seems that all the staples must be removed." The five gawked. "Whatever you don't finish today, you'll finish tomorrow." He held out a basket of staple-removers. "Choose your weapons. Ms. Ross, they're all yours."

There was a bit of an awkward silence following the principal's departure between the five students and their supervisor.

"Well-" Ms. Ross broke the silence. She spoke with an English accent. "I suppose we could begin with introducing ourselves. Do you all know each other?" This was answered by silence filled with a mix of nodding and shaking heads. "Well, I'll start I suppose. I'm Ms. Theresa Ross." When no one followed suit, she nodded to the boy standing at the far end. "And you?"

"Fridge," he mumbled.

She nodded. "Thank you - Fridge." An interesting nickname. She turned to the other boy.

"Spencer - Gilpin." He waved.

"Thank you, Spencer." She turned to one of the two blonde girls. "And you?"

"Samara, but I go by Sawyer."

"Thank you, Sawyer." The red-head was looking at the floor and mumbled so softly she missed it. "Sorry, I couldn't quite hear you?"

"Martha," she repeated, lifting her head this time, but only slightly.

"Thank you, Martha." She turned to the last girl, who was too busy staring down at her phone. She cleared her throat to get the girl's attention.

Her head snapped up. "Hmm?" She appeared completely oblivious.

"We're all introducing ourselves. Will you please tell us your name."

At this, the girl seemed surprised. _You don't know me?!_ Her eyes seemed to scream. "Bethany Walker."

Ms. Ross nodded. "Alright, well now we all know each other." She smiled. "Now I know you'd all probably rather be anywhere but, like Principal Bentley said, it's a good place for reflection."

With that she sent them off. She sat off to the side with a book while the four began removing staples. Bethany stood by the bin of magazines, but remained on her phone. Fridge started off by doing work, but quickly lost interest and became curious about everything else the basement held. Spencer, Martha, and Sawyer were the only ones actually accomplishing the task.

"Hey, what's this?" Fridge came back holding what looked like an old video game console.

"Hmm, I've never seen one like this before." Spencer inspected it. He saw that there was already a game cartridge in the slot.

As if both thinking the same thing, the two boys looked to the old TV sitting on a table with wheels parked off to the side, then looked back at each other.

"Hey Ms. Ross? Can we play? Uh, Ms. Ross..."

She appeared to snap from a trance - she had been staring at the console. She closed her book - one on animal species. "What is it?"

"A video game."

"How are the staples going?" She raised her eyebrows.

The boys looked down sheepishly. "Just for a few minutes?" Spencer tried.

They had been at it for over half an hour. And Spencer had been one of the ones doing most of the work. She saw no harm in it, she'd watch the time. "Alright then, for a few minutes I suppose."

Excited now, it took Spencer no time to get the console hooked up to the TV. When he turned it on, a name flashed across the screen.

"Jumanji," he read aloud.

This caught her ears, and caused her to look up sharply. _Jumanji_. She swore she'd heard of it before, but just couldn't place where or when. It gnawed at her, and she knew she wouldn't be satisfied until she remembered.

"'A game for those who seek to find a way to leave their world behind'," she heard Spencer's voice faintly say.

During her pondering, the boys had recruited Sawyer and Bethany to play along with them, and were now trying to convince Martha. Finally, the red-head gave in and the five selected their players: Doctor Smolder Bravestone, Spencer; Franklin 'Moose' Finbar, Fridge; Dawn Dars, Sawyer; Professor Shelly Oberon, Bethany; and Ruby Roundhouse, Martha.

Spencer hit one of the buttons on the controls to start the game, but nothing happened. He hit it again, but again, nothing.

Suddenly, everyone jumped as what sounded like drumming filled the room, as though coming from overhead. It seemed to be growing louder and louder with each beat of the drum, more intense...

"W-what's going on?" Bethany cried.

"I don't know," replied Spencer.

The screen started to flash like there was some sort of malfunction. Spencer raced over to try and solve the problem - it seemed to be getting worse.

"Unplug it!"

He did so, and as abruptly as it started, the drumming and flashing stopped - all except for a single green flicker of electricity coming from the cord. It felt hot, like it was overworked and using too much power... All was silent.

Suddenly, a blast of light shot from the console.

"Uh - M-Ms. Ross-"

"Ms. Ross!"

The book fell from her hands when suddenly, she disappeared in a green flash.

The five students didn't have long to wonder, only staring blankly at the spot where just a few moments ago their supervisor had been standing, before they too, vanished.

 _And so the game begins..._

 _So, what did you think? :) I'm afraid for my fellow Russel Van Pelt fans that he won't appear for a couple more chapters still, but I'll try and update soon! ;) Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!_


	4. Familiar and Unfamiliar Faces

_Hello! Here's chapter two!_

Chapter Two - Familiar and Unfamiliar Faces

Suddenly, she was no longer standing in the dark basement, but outside, in the bright sun, her hand instantly going to shield her eyes from its intense rays, despite already being partially shielded by the hat she was wearing. She appeared to be in a jungle of some sort.

But how? And where? All she remembered was being in the basement, and then, well, suddenly not being there... Hmm, this was all starting to feel oddly familiar...

The strange thing was, while the basement was rapidly fading from her memory, this place, wherever it was, seemed familiar, and strangely so. She just couldn't place it...

But where were the others? She was certain there had been others with her. She couldn't remember who, just vague outlines, but she was almost certain that she hadn't been alone... Or had she been? She couldn't quite recall now.

She was dressed in a comfortable button-up shirt, beige khaki vest, capri pants, calf-high lace-up boots, and with a little scarf tied around her neck. A belt was buckled around her middle with a little bag at her hip, and a wooden staff with intricate carvings along it was held in her gloved hand. She traced the carved lines with the tip of her finger.

She suddenly, almost too suddenly, became aware of the sounds carrying through the trees: faint voices, and the sound of sharpening metal - she wasn't alone here. And whoever it was was pretty close to her, or she was close to them.

This reassured her though - other people. She could ask for help, directions maybe. It was worth a try.

With that, she gathered herself and headed off, following the sounds.

Meanwhile, miles away, five people fell from the sky, some with a relatively safe landing, others not so much.

"Ow!"

"Where's my hair?"

"What the hell?!"

"Where am I?!"

"Uh, guys - whoa, why do I sound like that?"

"Who are you?"

"Who are _you_?!"

"Oh my God I'm totally suing - what's wrong with my voice? Where am I?!"

Now five unfamiliar adults stood in a circle staring at each other.

"My God - I think we're in the game," the tall, muscular man said.

"What?!"

"Excuse me?!"

"Somehow, I don't know how, but I think we got like, sucked into the game, and now we're the avatars we chose."

"W-where's the rest of me? And what - what is this on my back?" the smaller man was muttering to himself.

"Fridge?" asked the tall man.

"Yeah, yeah I'm Fridge. Who are you?"

"It's me, Spencer-"

"You're Spencer?!"

"Yes!"

There was a moment of shocked silence before Fridge blurted, his voice high-pitched from disbelief, "YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT YOU'RE SPENCER?!"

"Yes, I'm Spencer. And yet I look and sound like Dr. Smolder Bravestone - AHH!" A cawing bird overhead made him jump.

"Yup, that's Spencer," Fridge declared, now convinced.

"And Fridge, that means you're Moose Finbar." He turned to the red-headed woman who was standing awkwardly. "Martha?"

"Yeah."

"You're Ruby Roundhouse." Next he turned to the young blonde woman. "Sawyer? You're Dawn Dars. Nice glasses by the way."

"Uh, thanks." She adjusted them.

He turned to the last member of the group. "And Bethany, you're Professor Shelly Oberon - only 'Shelly' must be short for Sheldon."

"What are you talking about?" She looked around at her companions who all remained silent. Who was going to break the news to her?

Looking nervous now she ran over to the bank of the nearby lake.

"No! Bethany, don't look at it-"

But it was too late-

"NO! I'm an overweight middle-aged man!" Then she began frantically patting her pockets. "Wait a second - where's my phone?!"

"Oh my God-"

"Really?"

"That's your biggest concern right now?" cried Sawyer. "We're literally in a jungle!"

"We're in different people's bodies!" groaned Martha.

"That doesn't seem like the most pressing concern right now," Spencer mumbled.

"Ugh, why am I wearing this ridiculous outfit in the jungle?!" cried Martha. This was met by a, "hey! I think I look amazing!" Martha's hands flew to cover her mouth.

"Yeah, you do." Now Spencer did the same. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that - not that you don't look good, you do, I just - that wasn't me talking. I mean, it was, but not really _me_ -"

"Me too." Martha nodded.

Sawyer counted herself lucky with her outfit: she was wearing shorts too, hers overalls, but not nearly as short as Martha's, and a button-up shirt. She wore tan gloves and ankle-high boots which were really quite comfortable. She too carried a backpack, smaller than Fridge's, and there mustn't have been much in it cause it was very light. She was also thankful for her hair being pulled back in a ponytail. Very practical.

There was a moment of confused silence before Bethany cried, "and I look like a living garden gnome! Where is my phone?!"

"Well I don't have my Claritin, and all I see around me is pollen."

"Oh no, you have some allergies Spencer?" said Fridge, feigning concern. "I'm missing the top two feet of my body!"

"No, no this can't actually be happening-" Bethany gasped with sudden realization. "You guys! Maybe we're all in a coma."

This was met by silence.

"A coma? All together in a coma? Really?" cried Martha.

"Well I don't know! That old game machine must have-"

It happened so fast, almost a blur: a hippo popped out of the water behind her and devoured Bethany whole.

The others screamed.

"OH MY GOD!"

"Bethany!"

"You'd better get in there and save her," Fridge told Spencer.

"I'm not getting in there! You get in there!"

"I have a backpack on! You don't get in water with a backpack everybody knows that!"

"Oh for goodness sake-" Sawyer was just about to throw off her own backpack and dive in after Bethany, when there was a loud ringing from above, followed by a scream, and Bethany came crashing down to the jungle floor.

"Bethany!" The others rushed over to her.

"Ow!"

"Are you okay?!"

"That was so intense! I like, can't even with this place!"

"What happened?"

"Uh, I got eaten by a rhino, and then I fell like a thousand feet from the sky."

"Yeah, that's what it looked like," remarked Spencer.

"I'm still an old fat guy right?"

"I'm afraid so..."

"That was a hippo," Fridge corrected her. "They're omnivorous. They're as fast as a horse..." He began listing off facts about hippos, until he cut himself off. "How do I know this?!"

"You're an expert in zoology," Sawyer reminded him. "At least, Moose Finbar is."

"Uh, guys-" Martha's voice made them all look up to see another hippo coming through the bushes towards them.

"AH!" With a cry, Spencer took off running, the others quick to follow, in both the screaming and the running. They hadn't gone far before they emerged through a thinning in the trees, a muddy road in front of them.

 _Beep beep!_

A Jeep was just making its way along the road then. It drew to a halt before them and a man wearing a large hat poked his head out of the window. "Ah, Dr. Bravestone, welcome to Jumanji! Well don't just stand there, in you go!"

 _Yay Nigel to the rescue! ;) I love Nigel so he will feature more in this story than he did in the movie. There's chapter two (yay, now we're in the game!) I hope you enjoyed, thanks so much for reading! :) Oh, and can you guess who Terri is going to happen upon? ;)_


	5. A Warm Welcome

_Hello! Welcome back! Hope you enjoy! :)_

Chapter Three - A Warm Welcome

The five climbed into the Jeep, Spencer in the front and the others in the back - there was barely enough room. Sawyer found herself squished between Fridge and Bethany.

"Ah, Dr. Bravestone!" the man flashed Spencer a wide and cheery grin. "Legendary archaeologist and international explorer! Known across the Seven Continents for your bravery and courageous exploits!"

"You know this guy?" asked Fridge.

"No, of course not! How would I know him?!" cried Spencer.

"Well he seems to know you."

"I can't tell you what an honour it is to finally meet you! I'm a huge fan of your work! And I'm not embarrassed to say that you're even more dashing in person!" the man continued excitedly.

"Uhhh..." Spencer didn't know what to say. Then he suddenly blurted, "that's right!" Once again, he slapped a hand over his mouth. That was just so weird! And not to mention embarrassing.

"Uh, who are you?" asked Martha.

"Oh of course! Forgive me for not properly introducing myself - Nigel Billingsly at your service, Ruby Roundhouse, killer of men! Welcome to Jumanji! I've been so anxious for your arrival - thank goodness you're here! As you know, Jumanji is in grave danger."

"It is?"

"We're counting on you to lift the curse!"

"Curse?"

"What curse?"

"There's a curse now?"

"Excuse me, have you seen my phone anywhere?" Bethany cut in.

"Ah, Professor Sheldon Oberon! Welcome to Jumanji! Nigel Billingsly at your service - I've been so anxious for your arrival!" he repeated yet again, just as cheerily as the last.

Bethany looked perplexed. "What's with this guy?" she whispered, eyes narrowed in confusion behind her glasses. Sawyer adjusted her own glasses - they were so annoying! She tried taking them off. Nope, nothing. She was pretty much blind without them.

"I think he's an NPC," Spencer tried to explain in answer to Bethany's question.

"A what?"

"English please!"

"A non-player character. So anything he says is limited to a set of programmed responses."

"Yeah," said Fridge sarcastically. "Got it. It's all clear now. Thanks Spencer."

"Ah, Franklin 'Mouse' Finbar, welcome to Jumanji!" Nigel chirped, smiling at Fridge through the rear-view mirror.

"'Mouse'?" repeated Fridge. "Uh, I think you mean 'Moose.' It's Moose."

"My good sir, I do believe it's 'Mouse'. A nickname given for your diminutive stature, and adorable manner-" The girls turned to each other and shared a chuckle over this. "-I knew you'd be here, Dr. Bravestone never goes anywhere without his trusty sidekick! After Dr. Bravestone rescued you from the clutches of a warlord in the jungles of Peru, you've never left his side since!" Fridge just stared back.

The girls continued to chuckle. "You must have read his name wrong," said Sawyer.

"Ah, and Dawn Dars, excellent mechanic and companion to Seaplane!"

She had to admit, despite the suddenness and ridiculousness of their situation, the field guide's chipper demeanor lifted the tension, even if only by a little. "Seaplane?" she repeated. "Wait, wasn't that the other character?"

"Yeah," said Spencer. "The one we couldn't choose."

"Who is Seaplane?" she asked Nigel.

"Nigel Billingsly at your service! Welcome to Jumanji - I have been so anxious for your arrival! Thank goodness you're here," Nigel cried, turning back to Spencer, once again repeating himself. "Jumanji is in grave danger. We're counting on the six of you to lift the curse!"

"But there's only five of us..." This was becoming stranger by the minute...

"What curse?"

"It's all documented in the letter I sent you, Dr. Bravestone," Nigel informed.

"Letter? I don't have a let-" He held it, the letter, in his hand. Whoa...

Nigel chuckled. "Perhaps you should read it aloud."

"Uh, right. 'Dr. Bravestone, I am writing to you urgently-'"

Nigel's voice jumped in: _"-_ Regarding the desperate situation in Jumanji. We need your help at once!"

Suddenly, the scene around them was sucked away and they were surrounded in darkness before a new clip began playing.

"Uh, guys..."

"What's happening?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"I think it's a cut-scene," Spencer said. "A lot of games have them. It's like a little movie to tell you the backstory of the game."

 _"My_ _name is Nigel Billingsley,_ _Jumanji field guide. I was recently hired by your former partner, now nemesis, Professor Russell Van Pelt..."_

"Oh no," blurted Spencer again, again speaking unwillingly. Then he added, himself this time, "uh, that doesn't sound good."

"No shit," said Fridge.

Figures slashed at the dense plant life to pave a path for the group, in Jeeps, on motorbikes, and on foot, to follow. A man stepped down from the front Jeep - he had dark eyes framed by shadows cast by the bangs of his dark hair falling over his eyes. A smirk twitched across his lips. He wore a long coat that practically brushed the ground. One of his gloved hands held the silver handgun that rested at his hip, ready to withdraw and shoot if necessary. He looked very intimidating.

 _"...You see, Professor Van Pelt had come in search of the fabled_ _Jaguar shrine, resting place of the sacred Jewel of Jumanji, the Jaguar's Eye. After years of research, he believed he had finally discovered its whereabouts. Now, Van Pelt had not been alone on his quest - he had brought his wife along with him, but she, I regret to say, disappeared._ _Simply vanished._ _He was absolutely devastated. In the beginning, I felt sorry for him, poor chap. But that was before he stole the jewel..."_

The scene continued, revealing a great statue rising up above the jungle, the head of a jaguar.

 _"You see, Van Pelt told me that he wanted to find the jewel in order to document it, and perhaps that was originally his intention. But after his dearly beloved wife was snatched from him, swallowed up by the jungle, he made up his mind to steal from Jumanji as it had stolen from him..."_

Van Pelt, now at the top of the statue, brushed away some vines to uncover a bright green jewel. He drove his knife into the stone surrounding it and carved out the sparkling green jewel. He held it up, high above his head, declaring his victory as darkness descended over the jungle. _  
_

_Oh yeah, he's the bad guy,_ thought Sawyer.

 _"Legend tells that the jaguar watches over Jumanji, and that anyone who dares to blind it shall be consumed by a dark power. Van Pelt gained dominion over all of Jumanji's creatures, possessing them, controlling them. And just like that, a terrible curse befell this once peaceful place. I begged him to put it back, but now that he had it in his grasp, he could never let it go. He said only if his wife would be returned to him would he then return the jewel. But I am afraid she is lost, but I didn't dare say so. We searched and searched for her, but all in vain. And the longer we searched, the worse Jumanji's state became. Without the jewel, it_ _ha_ _s started to whither. So I made up my mind: I was going to take it back. I waited until they slept and made my move..."_

The scene showed Nigel tip-toeing through the group's camp, successfully taking back the jewel before being caught in the act.

" _Bring me that jewel!_ " roared Van Pelt. " _And slaughter anyone who tries to stop you._ "

"Right then - here you are-" The cut-scene was gone now, and they were back in the Jeep. Nigel produced a green jewel - _the_ jewel! He handed it to Spencer.

"B-but he just said-"

"W-what-"

"This is bad, like really bad-"

"We're gonna die!"

"Working together as a team you must use your complimentary skills to return the jewel to the Jaguar's Eye. And don't let it fall back into Van Pelt's hands! I fear all is lost for Jumanji if that were to happen. And I imagine you'll want to get started right away!"

"Uh, actually-"

"W-what-"

The doors opened with an almost cheerful _pop_!

"On you go! The fate of Jumanji is in your hands!" Nigel prompted. "Now remember, the goal for you I'll recite in verse: return the jewel, and lift the curse. If you wish to leave the game, you must save Jumanji and call out its name."

"He says it like it's easy..."

Nigel repeated the verse again as they all climbed out of the Jeep. "Here you go, Dr. Bravestone, a map of Jumanji. Go to the bazaar and find the missing piece."

"O-okay..."

"The missing piece of what?" demanded Martha, but Nigel was already pulling away with one last, 'cheerio!'

"You can't just give us a ride to the statue?" tried Fridge.

"And remember: if you wish to leave the game, you must save Jumanji and call out its name!"

 _Haha, such great comical timing with Van Pelt's last line and Nigel giving them the jewel! Hope you enjoyed, thanks so much for reading - and Van Pelt will be in the next chapter! ;)_


	6. The Dark-eyed Man

_And we're back! I'm excited for this chapter ;) Hope you enjoy!_

Chapter Four - the Dark-eyed Man

As she neared the camp, she saw that it was actually quite busy, lots of men working on various weapons, sharpening knives, loading guns, or fixing up motorbikes. It was rather intimidating, to be perfectly honest. Hmm, maybe this wasn't the best idea... However, something told her that this place was okay, despite its intimidating first impression. Something urged her on.

Shaking off any further uncertainties she stepped out of the trees and entered the camp, clearing her throat. All at once, about a dozen heads shot up and looked at her. She felt her grip on her staff tighten in response.

"Um, hello." She smiled a little - she wasn't sure what was more intimidating, the vast array of weapons, or the men themselves. "I was just passing through and seem to have gotten lost, and then I came across your camp and I was wondering if you might be able to tell me where I am?" she asked politely. The only answer she received however, was the same blank stares from all the men. No one said anything.

How very odd. Maybe there was a language barrier, maybe they didn't speak English. But she'd heard them speaking before, and knew that at least a few spoke English. She was just opening her mouth to speak again when there was the sound of hurried footsteps and the entrance to one of the larger tents was thrown open to reveal another man.

He didn't look like the others. Less intimidating perhaps but with an extremely intriguing aura. He wore a long, dark leather coat that brushed the ground as he walked. He wore tones of brown, good for blending in with the forest, except for his white shirt, bright against the rest of his appearance, dark clothes, tan skin, dark hair, dark eyes. She saw a flash of silver and saw that it was a gun at his hip - these men were heavily armed. His dark eyes immediately fell on her.

He stared at her, eyes wide. Eyes that seemed so familiar and yet she couldn't place them.

No one answered her still, they all just continued to stare, including the newcomer, who almost looked as though he might burst into tears.

When he spoke his voice was deep and he had an English accent like hers. "Terri?"

The fact that he knew her shocked her, but his use of her nickname shocked her even more - not only did this man know her, but he knew her well. And yet she had no idea who he was.

He came forward, looking dazed almost. He stopped and stared down at her. "Oh," he breathed, a smile gracing his lips. "I thought I'd lost you." Then he reached out, cupping her face gently in his gloved hands. For some reason, she didn't pull away, at least not right away. The gesture was welcoming, and comforting almost - familiar. That was until he leaned in, aiming to kiss her-

His lips were just hovering above hers, almost brushing hers, when she realized what was happening and shoved him away and jumped back away from him. "Oh I don't think so, Mate!"

With that she turned and took off running, hurriedly fleeing the camp and heading back into the trees.

"Terri wait!" he called, but she wasn't about to stop.

Perhaps the camp hadn't been the best place to go, but it was almost as if she had been drawn to it, and by something more than just curiosity... She just manged to catch the man shout, "bring her back!" which only made her quicken her pace. He even sounded familiar.

She quickly scampered up a tree - slightly awkwardly with her staff - but she managed to find a perch, from which she could also see the camp.

It was pretty spread out, tents scattered about, a fire at the centre. She saw now that the tent the dark-eyed man had emerged from was the largest, and she guessed that he was the leader of this group - whoever they were.

One of the men searching for her appeared beneath her, circling the trees. She froze, not daring to move a muscle. That was until the staff slipped from her shoulder and -

 _BONK!_ It struck the man right on the head, knocking him down. A hand flew to her mouth as she watched him crumble to the ground at the base of the tree.

"CAW!"

"DAH!" A large black vulture seemed to appear out of nowhere, perched close to caused her to lose her footing and she fell, with a scream, to the ground - landing flat on her stomach. Curse her clumsiness and its absolutely terrible timing!

She pushed herself up so that she was kneeling, while spitting bits of leaf and grass from her mouth.

"Terri!" The dark-eyed man burst through the trees, totally disregarding the unconscious man beside her.

Now she leapt to her feet, snatching up her staff and pointing it at him. "Back off! You want to be next?" She nodded to the unconscious man at her feet. Sure, she hadn't exactly taken him down herself, but they didn't need to know that.

"Terri-"

"Stop it! Stop calling me that!" She gripped the staff tighter. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"Terri, i-it's me-"

"That's not helpful!"

"Russell-"

"Well 'Russell'-" The name felt familiar on her tongue - she'd said it before. "-You must be mistaken, because I don't know you-" She was getting lost in his eyes, dark and mysterious, intriguing. He was rather handsome...

 _Stop it!_ She shook her head to dismiss such thoughts.

Now he looked more hurt than confused. "Oh my dear, what's happened to you?"

"Who are you?" she demanded again. Eyes not leaving him, she began inching her way back - she had a clear path behind her.

"Terri-"

"I said stop calling me that! Only people I'm close to call me that."

"B-but I'm-"

"Answer my question!"

"How about you come back to the camp-"

"Oh I'm not going back there! And I'm not going anywhere with you!"

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"Uh, I don't think she remembers, Boss," said one of the men. Well that confirmed her thought that this guy was the leader.

The dark-eyed man gave the man who had spoken a look of, 'idiot' before turning back to her. "Terri, it's me, Russell," he tried again. When that did nothing, he added, "your husband."

Terri felt her jaw drop, literally fall open, and her eyes very nearly popped out of their sockets. For a moment she was too stunned to say anything, shocked speechless. Finally, she found her words. "I beg your pardon?"

"It's me, I'm your husband, we're married."

She just stood there, jaw still agape, lips moving but no words spoken. Finally, she spoke. "Get away from me!" And with that she took off running again, this time sprinting like her life depended on it. She didn't care that she was alone in an unfamiliar place, or that her staff made running awkward and kept bumping against her hip painfully - she just had to get away from that guy!

She could hear shouting and commotion behind her, so she could only guess that they were chasing after her. This only pushed her harder.

 _Beep beep!_ She whirled around to see a Jeep driving towards her. It slowed to a stop directly in front of where she stood.

"Well I'll be!" A rather jolly man stuck his head out the window and beamed at her. "Professor Ross is that really you?! Oh thank goodness you're alright, I can't tell you what a relief it is to have you back! Please, hop in, I have much to tell you - and it's not all good I'm afraid."

 _Nigel to the rescue again, haha! So I came up with this idea that when the NPCs are talking to each other they have a wider set of responses :) Also, in this version, Van Pelt's eyes only turn all green when he's controlling animals._

 _Did you guys make the connection right away? ;) I figured that when you read about his wife disappearing in the last chapter, you knew who my character would be! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!_


	7. Getting into Character

_Hello! Hope you enjoy this next chapter!_

Chapter Five - Getting into Character

"It's okay, everything's gonna be fine. In real life you're hot and you can hook up with anyone you like," Bethany was mumbling to herself.

"Is that what you tell yourself when you're upset?" asked Martha.

"Oh my God can you not judge me for like two seconds?! I split up with Noah, I turned into a guy, and now I can't find my phone - I'm allowed to be upset okay!"

They were trudging through the tall grass, already hot, sweaty, and frustrated.

"Ugh, can't we just leave? Like why do we have to do all this other stuff?" Bethany complained.

"Nigel said if we want to leave the game we have to save it," Spencer reminded.

"Yeah, he didn't say we could just leave at any time," added Sawyer.

"The game sets the rules, we've got to play by those rules. I think we have to save Jumanji," Spencer declared, and continued on.

"It's okay, it's all going to be okay," Bethany went back to trying to calm herself. "We, we just have to save Jumanji-"

"Just?!" cried Fridge.

Spencer continued to lead. He seemed to be talking to himself to cope with his nervousness. "We're trapped in a video game. I play video games. It's literally the main thing I do... A game like this, there's going to be levels. In order to finish the game you have to complete all the levels. The levels are going to get harder as we go along-"

"Spencer do you actually know where we're going?" demanded Fridge.

"Kinda..."

"Kinda? Oh, oh that's good then. We're in good hands... We're doomed!"

Spencer looked down at the map Nigel had given them. A corner was missing. "The missing piece, I'm guessing?"

"That must be what we're looking for at the bazaar," Martha gasped. "The missing piece of the map."

"The problem is, there's nothing here." He flipped the map over, but it was blank. "How are we supposed to get to the bazaar?"

"You weren't even following the map?!" cried Fridge.

"I can't there's nothing here!"

"What do you mean there's nothing here?" Bethany asked. "It's a map just like he said. A map of Jumanji."

"Cartography!" Martha cried.

"Uh, what's that?" asked Bethany, now appeared worried.

"The study of maps! It was one of Professor Oberon's skills."

"Oh, so you can't read this but I can?" Bethany took the map.

"That's right. The characters we chose, we all have special skills," said Spencer. "So there must be a way to access our skills-" He gasped when, all of a sudden, a bright green box listing strengths and weaknesses appeared before him:

Dr. Smolder Bravestone

Legendary Archaeologist and Explorer

Strengths: Fearless, climbing, speed, boomerang, smoldering intensity

"Smoldering intensity?" he read. As soon as he said this he turned and stared off into the distance. There was silence.

"What the hell are you doing?" demanded Fridge, snapping him from the trance.

"Uh, what just happened?"

"Uh, you just smoldered..." Bethany grinned.

Spencer went back to the list:

Weakness: none

"None?" He nodded, impressed.

"How did you get that list?" Martha asked.

"Oh, uh, I think I just pressed my - enormous left pec."

"Yeah, like here. Here, let me show you-" Fridge reached out towards her chest.

 _Slap!_ She smacked his hand away. "Get the hell away from me!"

He appeared startled. "At least press it in front of us so we know what to do."

Martha turned away and tried pressing her own chest. A bright red box appeared when she did:

Ruby Roundhouse

Killer of Men

Strenghts: Karate, T'ai Chi, Aikido, dancing fighting

Weakness: Venom

"Dance fighting? Is that even a thing?" she asked.

"Seriously?" The others turned to look at Bethany who had a yellow box displaying her skills:

Professor Sheldon 'Shelly' Oberon

Curvy Genius

Strengths: Cartography, archaeology, and paleontology.

Weakness: Endurance

"Pale-ee-on-tol-" She tried to sound it out, but gave up. "What does that even mean?"

"Um, study of fossils, I think. That's pretty cool," Martha told her.

"Says the gorgeous karate bad-ass to the old fossil guy with no endurance."

Sawyer tried next. Her box was blue.

Dawn Dars

Excellent Mechanic, Companion to Seaplane

Strengths: mechanics, engine and plane fixing, speed

Weaknesses: heights, glasses, alcohol

No wonder her glasses were so annoying.

Last was Fridge. His skills were listed in a bright pink box:

Franklin 'Mouse' Finbar

Dr. Bravestone's Loyal Sidekick

"Oh, they couldn't have told me the sidekick thing before," mumbled Fridge.

Strengths: Zoology, weapons valet

Weaknesses: Speed, strength, cake

"I hate this game!" he declared. "Everybody else got all the good stuff!"

"Weakness: cake?" read Martha. Sawyer held back a laugh.

"Yes, cake is my weakness. Along with speed and strength. How is strength my weakness?! And speed? Why would I need to be fast when I'm being chased through the jungle by a giant killer zebra or some shit in this dumbass hat?!"

"Well, you're also a good weapons valet," Martha tried.

"What's that?" he demanded

"Well I think it means you carry _my_ weapons in _your_ backpack and give them to me when and if I need them," Spencer told him. This didn't seem to help, and Fridge only looked even more upset.

He looked as though he was about to snap back when Bethany suddenly cried, "you guys! It's changing! The map its changing!" The others rushed over to see; words and pictures were appearing, as though being drawn by an invisible hand. "See, it didn't say this before and now it does-" Bethany pointed. _From the Deep_ and _The Mighty Roar_.

"'From the Deep _...'_ " Spencer thought for a moment. "The hippo, it came from the deep. "You know, the one-"

"Yes, the thing that did the thing," Bethany cut him off. "Moving on."

"So if 'From the Deep' is the first level, then 'The Mighty Roar' must be the second. Which way Bethany?"

"Um-" She inspected the map. "This way, it looks like."

"Okay, lead the way-" He smoldered again. "Let's do this."

"Why do you keep doing that?" demanded Fridge.

Spencer snapped out of it. "I-I don't know, but it wasn't me, like with the talking, you know, how sometimes, words will just come out of our mouths without us meaning to talk. It's like that."

"Weird," mumbled Sawyer. "This game is sure full of surprises."

"Sure is," he agreed. "Now let's get going, it's starting to get dark."

 _Hello, hope you enjoyed, thanks so much for reading! :) And thank you for all the comments! :) I love seeing your reactions!_


	8. Into the Jungle

_Hello! Welcome back :) Hope you enjoy!_

Chapter Six- Into the Jungle

Nigel! Oh thank goodness, someone familiar! His kind and chipper demeanor was impossible to forget, and very welcome at that moment.

As if on cue, the passenger side door swung open. She climbed inside and had barely sat down in her seat before the door closed and Nigel was speeding away again. Nigel to the rescue!

"You look well, Professor Ross," he called to her as they drove.

"Thanks, Nigel. Who were those guys-" She kept throwing frantic glances over her shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed.

"We were all very distressed by your disappearance. But here you are! I'm afraid things have taken a rather dramatic turn since we last saw you."

"How do you mean?"

"I'm afraid Jumanji has been cursed."

"Cursed?!"

"I thought that if anyone could put an end to this, it would be you-"

"Me?!"

"-But now I fear that not even you could."

"What could I possibly do?!"

"It's your husband, Professor Ross," Nigel told her, turning serious.

"My what?!" But he was now the second person to say that - that couldn't be a good sign.

"He found the jewel, but after your disappearance he became devastated and stole it, thus cursing Jumanji and putting it in its current state. Now he originally said that he would return it if only we found you. However, I fear its power over him has become too great, and that he doesn't want to give it up, not even for you. As you know better than anyone, the jewel is his great obsession."

"I hate that stupid jewel," she muttered. The words were out of her mouth before she even realized it - she didn't even remember this jewel, but just the mention of it had sent anger boiling deep within her. She didn't know where this information came from, but she knew for certain that it was correct - it was like it was buried deep in the recesses of her brain, and only now surfacing without her realizing it. She had thought all her memories would come flooding back, or at least she had hoped, but guess not.

"But fear not, Professor Ross, for I have sent for Dr. Smolder Bravestone - your husband's former partner and now nemesis - and his team to come and help us return the jewel."

Nemesis? Great. "You sent for Bravestone?"

"Yes, seeing as he once worked with your husband-"

"Could you please stop saying that." He, Bravestone, never been a fan of her, for reasons she had never been able to figure out, so she was quite sure that he wouldn't be so happy with having to work with her, and to stop her - her _husband_ as everyone was calling him - no less.

"-He seemed like the obvious choice. Now, Dr. Bravestsone, along with his sidekick Franklin 'Mouse' Finbar, and team Ruby Roundhouse, Professor Sheldon Oberon, and Dawn Dars - I believe you are already familiar with them?"

"Uh, yes-" The names sounded familiar, she just couldn't match a face to the name.

"They have only just arrived, but the sixth member, Seaplane McDonough, was already here. Just go through the trees here and you'll be sure to find him."

"What-" Suddenly, the Jeep lurched to a halt. She jumped when the door beside her popped open.

"The best of luck to you Professor Ross! I'm sure I will be seeing you again very soon! And again, I am so glad you are alright."

She took that as her sign to get out of the Jeep and so she stepped down. "Thanks Nigel."

"Good luck!" The door closed, and with one last cheery wave, Nigel drove off.

Ah Nigel, what a sweetheart. She had instantly warmed to him and had loved hearing all his facts and legends about Jumanji... Huh, so she was remembering, only a little, but it was still some progress. She hoped this man they called her husband hadn't caused the poor field guide too much trouble, but based on his story the opposite was the case. And she was still in denial about the whole husband thing.

"So he said just go through there and I'd find this Seaplane fellow," she muttered to herself.

Sighing, she trudged onward. Despite having driven far from the camp, she kept alert for any sign of the dark-eyed man and his men who might be lurking nearby in search of her.

* * *

Back at the camp, the men, heads hanging in shame, were avoiding eye contact with their boss, who stood there, expectantly. The men exchanged a glance - who among them would be the brave bearer of the bad news? However, the fact that Ms. Ross was not with them spoke for itself.

Van Pelt's jaw tightened as he suppressed a growl. "She got away."

"Afraid so, Boss," one man said.

Van Pelt cursed under his breath and turned away with an agitated sigh.

"S-sorry, Sir-"

"You let her get away."

"W-with all due respsect, Sir, she didn't seem to remember-" The man was cut off when his boss spun around and seized him by the front of his jacket, bringing his face close to his.

"I lost her once," he hissed. "I'm not going to lose her again."

* * *

Terri was still trudging along through the trees, exhausted, confused, and alone. There was no sign of this Seaplane fellow she was supposed to find, and she kept jumping at any sudden noise, thinking that she was being followed.

Suddenly, she heard a rustling behind her; again, she jumped. Then she froze - _my God I am being followed!_ Mind racing, her first thought was _dark-eyed man and his creepy associates!_

She gripped her staff tightly in both hands, ready. Then, with a great swing, she spun around.

 _So I recently realized that Bobby Cannavale is Paxton in Ant-Man and so I had to watch that movie again and it's too good! I bet you can guess who I'll be cheering for when the sequel comes out ;) Haha! And back to Van Pelt - he will return soon, I promise! He and Terri are in for another reunion soon! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!_


	9. Margaritas and Memories

Chapter Seven - Margaritas and Memories

 _SMACK!_ Her staff hit whoever it was behind her - a young man in a pilot's jacket she soon discovered, who crashed to the ground with a groan, holding his now bruised jaw.

"Ow! Yikes!"

"You snuck up on me!" she defended.

"Fair enough." Staggering, he got to his feet. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. You're Terri, aren't you? Terri Ross."

This alarmed her, like it had with the dark-eyed man. It was scary, all these people knowing her and knowing what was going on when she didn't know them or what was going on. "Theresa, yes. Terri for short."

"You're her!" His excitement then quickly fell away. "Wait, you're not on his side, are you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Van Pelt, are you working for him?"

"Who?"

"Van Pelt," he repeated. Nothing. "Uh, the game's villain. Tall, long leather coat, controls all the animals and his eyes turn this creepy green when he does so? He's always talking about you, and he has a picture of you-"

"Why?!" That creep! "And how do you know this?!"

"Cause I snuck into his camp once and looked around, stole some food."

"Does he have these dark, intriguing eyes? Does he have a silver gun that he's so proud of? And the chain around his neck - does he wear that?"

Now he appeared confused by her attention to detail - even she was surprised. "Uh, yeah..."

Then it was the same dark-eyed man from the camp, the one who recognized her and who tried to kiss her, and she almost let him...

"No, I'm not working with him. I was actually just running away from him, and luckily Nigel showed up."

"Oh, okay, good. Glad we're on the same page then. I just thought, you now, cause you're married and stuff, but that's cool."

She winced. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Saying what?"

"That we're married? My husband-" Wait a minute... When she had been talking with Nigel just before this they had been speaking of him, her husband - she knew who he was, but she hadn't had a clear image of him, only a vague one,only known that he existed. Her memories were coming back, in no sort of easy pattern, and slowly, but they were returning nonetheless.

And now this fellow also seemed to be telling her that her husband was the man from the camp. It was becoming harder and harder to deny it... Well, that explained a lot, everything clicking together in her head like the pieces of a puzzle, the whole recognizing her, the almost-kiss, the picture...

Now the young man looked even more confused. "Wait, are you telling me that you don't remember?"

"No - I mean yes, I mean - I don't know-"

There was a pause before he spoke again. "Nigel said you disappeared. Where did you go?"

"I don't know," she answered again, and truthfully.

"Well, wherever it was, and whatever happened, it must have done something to your memory."

"Y-yes..." Now she spoke shakily. She suddenly felt very small and insecure, unsure and vulnerable.

He sensed this. "Hey, hey," he said gently, comfortingly. "It's gonna be alright, yeah? I'll help you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, yeah of course."

"T-thank you."

"I'm Alex."

"Terri." Alex - she could have sworn there was someone else named Alex that she knew... She just couldn't put her finger on it...

Alex started walking. "Here, my hideout's just through here. And do you like margaritas?"

* * *

"Uh, guys, it's really starting to get dark-"

"Oh really Spencer? I couldn't tell."

"Cut it out, Fridge."

"I think we should make camp for the night," Spencer said.

The others agreed. It had been quite the eventful day.

"Should one of us stay awake and keep watch?" Sawyer asked.

"I vote Spencer."

"Why me?!"

"Cause you're Bravestone!"

"You can wake me in a couple of hours and I'll take over, if you want," Martha piped up. "We'll take turns, like they do in the movies."

"Fine, I'll do it-" This was followed by a scream as another bird startled him.

"Spencer, chill," Fridge hissed.

"This jungle is making me very uncomfortable," Spencer muttered.

"Join the club. Now shut up and keep watch!"

"Fridge!" the others scolded.

"Stop being such an asshole," Bethany told him.

"Oh I'm the asshole, huh? Am I? Who's the one who got us into this mess?"

"We all did, okay. Now can we please try to get along and get some sleep?" said Sawyer.

The others agreed and they settled down for the night.

* * *

"So, you're a part of the game, right?" Alex asked her as they sat in his crafty hideout drinking margaritas.

"Yes, I'm apart of the game, I just don't remember. Everything seems vaguely familiar though, or is starting to." She took another sip of her drink before asking the question she had been dying to ask. "Who was that man? The dark-eyed one?" She just couldn't seem to get him off her mind... She knew now, who he was, but maybe Alex repeating it would help jog her memory. It was silly, but worth a try. This was also her chance to learn more about everything here.

"Who, Van Pelt? Well, he's the game's main antagonist, besides the game itself. The task to complete the game is to keep the jewel out of his hands and return it to the jaguar statue..."

Jewel, jaguar, antagonist... It all blurred together in her mind. It was getting rather frustrating, the recognizing but not recognizing, like when you knew what you wanted to say but couldn't remember the word, even though it was on the tip of your tongue.

"Ringing any bells?"

"Not exactly, but vaguely I suppose." She took another light sip of her drink. "Sorry, I suppose I'm not very helpful."

"No, that's alright, I'm still learning too."

"And you say he's my - that we're - that he and I are-" She didn't really want to say it, for she still didn't quite believe it yet herself...

Oh who was she kidding? Alex was the third person to say it, one being the man himself, so that was conformation. She was married, and her husband was, according to Alex, the main villain of the game, and he was trying to find her. Brilliant.

"Yeah..." Alex nodded.

Fantastic - of course it just had to be the villain, right? She wished she would just remember. That would make this all so much easier. She was a character in a game, so maybe that had something to do with it. Maybe the game was just messing with her - it was probably snickering at all it was putting her through.

"How long have you been here?" she asked him.

"Well, it's hard to say. Time's kind of funny here, so I'm guessing a few months, at least."

She nodded. Then she began twirling the ring on her finger thoughtfully - wait, ring, what ring? Removing her left glove she was met by a cute little diamond ring. It was very pretty, but simple, didn't draw too much attention or stand out too much. She didn't know how she hadn't realized it before - that or it was just such a familiar part of her from wearing it all the time that she just didn't think about it. Well, there was even more proof. She found herself admiring it.

Alex stood. "It's getting dark. You can stay here if you'd like. It's safe."

"Oh thank you, that would be lovely."

"And well-hidden too. Van Pelt and his men haven't found me."

"Yet. I hope I don't get you caught."

"Don't worry about it. We'll figure that out if it comes to it. Goodnight Terri."

"Goodnight Alex. Thank you, again."

"Yeah, no problem. Night." He was just turning to head to bed when he stopped. "I have all my memories, you have none. I'm not sure which would be worse."

 _Yay, Alex is here! And sooner than in the movie ;) thank you so much for reading guys, I hope you enjoyed! And thank you for all the comments - I love hearing what you guys think! :)_


	10. The Chase Continues

Chapter Eight - The Chase Continues

"If you're going to remember any place here, it'll be the bazaar," Alex told her the next morning as he led her through the jungle along a mountainside. She had slept late, having been exhausted from all the excitement and confusion of the previous day.

The bazaar. Sounded interesting.

Alex was easily the most helpful person she had met here so far. Nigel was helpful, of course, and welcoming, but with her lack of memory it was hard to understand what he was telling her. And well, the dark-eyed man and other men at the camp had only confused her more, so Alex it was.

"Oh wow," she breathed when she saw it.

Alex grinned. "Yeah, cool huh? Come on, you've only barely seen it."

He led her inside the bustling, colourful marketplace, where you could find just about anything: clothing, food, weapons.

"It's brilliant." And it too seemed vaguely familiar, just as he had said, so that was a good sign.

"See that grate there," Alex said, lowering his voice and nodding to one down a narrow side street. "There's a tunnel beneath it. If we ever get separated here, you can go through there, it's a shortcut back out to where the hideout is. There are some obstacles, but it's hidden."

She nodded. "Good to know. Now come on, I want to explore!"

And that was how they spent most of the afternoon, wandering through the many booths.

"So let me get this straight: your name is Alex, but you're stuck in the game as Jefferson 'Seaplane' McDonough?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I know, it's confusing. And you're a professor?"

"Yes, Professor Theresa Ross, aspiring zoologist."

They were cut off then by the humming of motorcycles - that could only mean one thing.

"Split up!" cried Alex as the men appeared. "You know that creek close to the hideout we passed on our way here?" Terri nodded hastily. "Let's plan to meet back there in a couple of days."

"A couple of days?!"

"Let them lose our trail, less risk of them finding us both and the hideout."

Okay, she saw his point. "What if one of us doesn't make it back there?"

"Then the other goes back to the hideout and tries to find the others before helping the other person."

Again, she nodded. "Okay, see you there and then. Good luck."

"You too." With that, they both took off in opposite directions.

"Hey!" She could hear the men shouting after them. She frantically ducked behind booths and people.

"Rations! Get your rations!" The old man selling food stepped right in front of her path.

"Sorry, can't right now!" She sprinted past him.

The grate! The method of escape Alex had told her about. If only she could find it - in her frantic state she felt so turned around that everything looked the same, and she was overwhelmed by the noise, colour, and the crowd. It was like a maze in here. But she had no time to stop and think - she couldn't make it to the escape, so she could only hope Alex could. So she did all she could do - she kept running.

A gateway! Up ahead - the chase had led her all the way to the other end of the bazaar, and an open gate like in one of those medieval castles was straight ahead.

She was quite impressed with herself managing to get through all these obstacles with her clumsiness - but she thought this too soon, for just a few moments later she flew over a stack of crates. The toe of her boot got caught on one of them, sending her crashing to the ground face first. She cursed herself.

Looking up, she found she had been surrounded by the men, one standing between her and the open gate thus blocking her escape. _Oh well done, Terri_.

One man with throwing knives at his belt stepped forward. "Hello Ms. Ross. Your husband will be glad to see that you're safe."

She jumped to her feet, snatching up her staff. "I don't know what you're talking about-" It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't quite the truth either.

She frantically searched for an escape. How was she going to get past them and slip out the gate? Then she realized the gate was being held open by a rope and pulley system.

"You're confused, you're scared. We can help you."

"Yeah, thanks for the offer but-" With a swing of her staff she hit the pulley system and dove beneath the gate just as it fell, closing and separating them. She didn't look back, but heard a lot of shouting and cursing. Hmm, she was pretty good with this staff. It certainly came in handy.

She didn't stop running until the noise and music from the bazaar was long gone. She knew that being all the way on the other side of the large and vast market, she was even further away from the hideout now. Alex had shown her markers along their way to the bazaar so she would know she was in the right place if she ever got lost. Good old Alex, thinking of everything.

A couple of days. She had a couple of days before she had to meet him, a couple of days alone to try and get around the jungle and avoid the men. She didn't know how long it would take her to reach the hideout, now being even further away from it. She had better start walking.

* * *

Unhelpfully, night was beginning to fall. She had to walk all the way around the outskirts of the bazaar, which only added more time. She was exhausted, and decided that she would only go a little further and then make camp for the night.

At least with the coming of nightfall the intense heat from the day was withering, as it had begun to make her drowsy and make her head spin, and with her exhaustion and already confused state that wasn't a good mix. She was becoming so delirious that it looked like that fat vine hanging from that nearby tree was moving.

She stopped walking. Wait, that wasn't a vine...

She froze, growing rigid as her gaze began to follow the long, grey body until she was turning around to meet the head of a giant snake.

With a cry she stumbled back, landing hard on the ground. She scrambled back as the snake lowered its head closer to her, jaws open wide, fangs bared, eyes narrowed, and tongue flicking towards her in a hiss.

Then, suddenly, the snake drew back slightly, though looked as though it were fighting against it. Turning, her eyes were met by the shadow of a tall figure at the edge of the trees. She would recognize that figure anywhere - the dark-eyed man.

He stepped out of the shadows and his eyes flashed emerald green, which seemed to overpower the snake for it gave one last warning hiss before it slithered away.

It was only when its scaly tale disappeared that Terri's heartbeat started to slow again from its racing pace.

Slowly, cautiously almost, as though he feared another outburst from her, though nonetheless concerned, he approached. "Are you alright?"

Her gaze went from him and then back to the spot where the snake had been just moments before. "Y-you controlled it. How?"

He reached out a gloved hand. "I'll show you."

She hesitated - what if she were making a great mistake? But she still had so many questions... Plus, he had just saved her, so she figured that she would be safe with him.

So reaching out, she put her hand in his and held it tight.

 _Putting those animal control skills to good use! ;) And meanwhile, the others are still wandering through the jungle lost, haha! ;) Just kidding, we'll catch up with them in the next chapter, but I wanted to get this chapter out! Hope you enjoyed, thanks so much for reading and for the comments! :)_


	11. A Long and Tiring Journey

Chapter Nine - A Long and Tiring Journey

They hadn't exactly gotten an early start. Their first day in the game had exhausted everyone, and with the five of them switching off sleeping and keeping watch, they wanted to make sure everyone had a turn for both sleeping and watching. The start of a long day.

Now they were walking again. Bethany was in the lead with the map while the others walked behind her at varying paces.

Sawyer decided to try and make conversation to pass the time. "So, how did you get in detention?" she asked Spencer.

He cast a look behind them at Fridge. "Uh, I did Fridge's essay for him, and we both got caught."

"Yikes," she winced.

"Yeah. He's still mad at me cause he got cut from the team, as you can probably tell."

"Well he's the one who had you do his homework for him. I don't think it's your fault, Spencer."

"Thanks. What about you?"

"I was spray-painting graffiti in the gym."

He gawked at this. "That's so dangerous!"

She chuckled a little. "Only if you get caught - which I did."

"Yikes. What happened?"

"Besides detention, I have to re-paint over it. I didn't paint too much though, so it won't be too bad to clean up." She turned to the red-head. "What about you, Martha? How did you get detention - if you don't mind us asking."

"Oh, no, that's alright. And Spencer already knows-"

"Oh, I do? No, I mean, I do, I know that, but - you noticed me?"

"Yeah, we're in the same class." He seemed touched by this, being noticed by her. "Well, I didn't want to play football, and talked back to the coach and well, now here I am."

"Yeah, I heard what you were saying - overheard, like I wasn't listening in or anything. And I wasn't watching you, I mean, we're in the same class-" Spencer told her awkwardly, stumbling over his words.

Sawyer smiled, sensing that they were having a bit of a moment, and stepped back.

"Ugh, we've been at this all day," Fridge whined from behind them. "It's so hot and muggy and the sun's in my eyes-" he complained.

"Hey, at least you have a hat," Martha said, holding a hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun.

"Yeah, this dumbass hat. And I'm walking really slow, like painfully slow."

"We're getting there, don't worry," Bethany called from up ahead, still pouring over the map.

"Bethany are you sure you're reading that map right?" Fridge asked.

"Uh yeah, it's one of my skills. We're getting there."

"Ugh, why's it taking so long?"

"Well the game sets the pace and the rules. We've got to play by it's rules," Spencer said. "It doesn't seem in any rush to have us finish. It seems to be getting us familiar with our surroundings and characters."

"Great, taking it's own sweet time."

"Maybe it's just lonely and wants friends," Bethany suggested.

"A game wants friends?"

"I don't know it was just a thought." She shrugged.

Fridge shook his head. "Besides, what kind of 'friend' has their friends lost in a jungle and eaten by a hippo?"

"Hey, I heard that!" Beth called.

"Says the guy who made his friend do his homework and got them both in trouble," Sawyer shot back.

Fridge stared at her for a moment before sending a death glare towards Spencer, and Sawyer regretted saying it.

"Look, I don't like it either, but Jumanji needs us, needs our help," Spencer stated.

"But why us?"

"Well, we started it, now we have to finish it. We have to do this. And there's no one better..." His voice grew all deep and slightly husky and he smoldered, staring past the others and off into the distance.

"Damn, that is a man right there." Bethany stared.

"Okay, okay, it's starting to get weird," Martha hissed.

"What? I can't help it." Bethany continued to eye Spencer.

"Why do you keep doing that?" cried Fridge, once again breaking the trance.

Spencer shook it off. He thought for a moment. "Wait, guys, I think it's our avatars talking through us."

"What, now that's just stupid-" Fridge was quick to dismiss this.

"But think about it: I keep saying things that I have no control over, and Martha, the same happened to you when you were talking about your outfit. And the smolder-" To finish he smoldered again.

"I'm not complaining," mumbled Bethany.

The others pondered this for a moment.

"It does kind of make sense," agreed Sawyer.

"That would explain why we keep talking and saying things without meaning to," Martha also agreed.

"Guys, the map's changing again," Bethany updated. "It's getting clearer - we're getting close."

"That's what you keep saying," mumbled Fridge as the group trudged on.

 _I know not a lot happens in this chapter, but I wanted to get some plot points across, such as it's taking them longer to complete the game than in the movie to keep their storyline aligned with Terri and Van Pelt's (who we will reconnect with in the next chapter!) and the avatars talking through them which I'm hoping will be comedic :) Hope you enjoyed, thanks so much for reading!_


	12. Back Where We Started

Chapter Ten - Back Where We Started

Terri followed close behind him as he led her through the trees and back to the camp. It was ironic almost, that she was so willing returning to the place she had just hastily fled from.

Much like the rest of the jungle, it looked very different at night, while shrouded in shadows and firelight. But still it was pretty much the same - the men bustled about, working on either their weapons or bikes. Some marched around the perimeter, keeping watch. They all paused in their work to glance at her as she walked by.

"Back to work," the dark-eyed man ordered, and they obeyed.

Terri was thankful - their stares made her slightly uncomfortable and she found herself inching closer to him. Their arms brushed through the leather sleeve of his jacket and cotton sleeve of her shirt - heat flared up her arm at the brief contact and she was thankful for the cover of night to hide her suddenly blushing cheeks.

Soon she was seated before the fire. Night had just fallen, so it wasn't late but she still felt exhausted - all this trying-to-remember-and-piece-everything-together was truly tiresome, and tedious.

She hugged her knees to her chest, soaking up the warmth of the flames. It was kind of funny how during the day it could get so hot that it felt like your skin was melting off, and then at night the temperature would drop and the jungle would be plunged into a chill. She hadn't noticed she was shivering a little, though some of it was still from the encounter with the snake.

She evidently wasn't the only one to notice her shivers, for moments later she felt something soft and heavy go around her shoulders and looking up found that he had removed his long leather coat and had draped it around her.

"T-thanks." She was touched and comforted by the gesture - although she still had her uncertainties, she knew that as long as she was with him, no harm would come to her, and that much was comforting.

She pulled the coat tighter around herself and breathed in its scent, _his_ scent: leather, smoke from the fire, jungle, cologne. It smelled - familiar. She breathed in again - maybe it would jog her memory.

But then she realized she must appear rather funny, nose buried in his coat like that, so she stopped and tried to focus on the scent as it lingered in her nostrils - yes, familiar, and comforting.

He asked if she was hungry, and she thanked him but declined - almost being devoured by a giant snake had cast aside her appetite.

She removed her gloves and held her palms up before the flames which stung her skin with warmth. Her eyes were drawn to the flicker of the flames across the diamond on her ring. It kept surprising her, each time she looked at it, as she guessed it would have after first getting married. But she also kept forgetting about it, like she was used to having it, used to wearing it all the time.

She stared at it for another moment more before concealing it again with her glove.

"Terri." Turning, she saw that he was gesturing for her to follow him. He led her inside the largest tent. It was quite spacious: there was a desk stacked with books and papers, a large map and compass, and lantern. There was a cot, a chair, two large trunks, and there was still lots of room.

He picked up a leather-bound journal from the desk. "This is how I can control them, the animals."

He held the journal out to her and she flipped it open, scanning the neat handwriting: _The Jaguar's Eye, jewel of Jumanji. Location: Jaguar Shrine, Jumanji_

"Jaguar's Eye," she whispered. That was familiar. Then she noticed the framed picture sitting at the corner of the desk. It was of her - must be the one Alex was talking about.

"Well I certainly look a bit better there than I do now," she joked, thinking she must be a sight to be seen all sweaty, with her dirt-smeared skin, tangled hair, and wrinkled clothes - well, she was comfortable enough around him to make jokes, so that was a good sign.

He remained serious. "No, you're beautiful."

This comment made her blush and she didn't quite know what to say, so she uttered a small, "t-thank you."

"You look tired," he observed, watching her rub her eyes.

"Yeah, it's been a long day. A long couple of days."

"Go ahead, lie down, get some rest. You can take the cot, I'll sleep on the ground."

"Oh, is that how we did it before?" Did they alternate perhaps, one sleeping on the cot and one on the ground, and then switching the next night?

"Well, no, but with you not remembering, I don't want you to be uncomfortable..."

"Sharing the same bed," she finished. He nodded. There was a slightly awkward silence. As thoughtful a suggestion as it was, it was strange, both could feel it.

She shook her head. "Thank you, that's sweet, and thoughtful, but it's not really fair. I mean we are married, I know that now, I just don't remember. I'm fine with us sharing, I don't mind."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

He nodded. "Alright." Then he nodded to the trunks. "Your trunk is there, if you want to change."

Going over and kneeling before the trunks, she opened hers. Inside she found a limited selection of clothes - she had packed lightly. She found a tank top to sleep in and removed her hat from where it hung by the string around her neck, as well as her gloves, scarf, and boots, and his coat. She was just about to remove her shirt when luckily, she remembered she wasn't alone. She glanced over to see that he was still there, sorting through some papers on the desk. She guessed that, being married, they didn't mind changing in front of each other. But now was different.

"Um, would you mind stepping outside for a moment while I change?"

He looked up, he too becoming aware of their slightly compromising situation. "Oh, yes, of course - sorry."

"N-no, that's alright," she said, just as he ducked out of the tent. _Well done, way to make it brilliantly awkward between you two!_ But it wasn't her fault, it was her bloody memory's.

It didn't take her long to change - she was glad to wrap his coat around her again. Then she began wandering around the tent, curious. Then she realized he was probably still standing outside waiting to come back in so she peeked her head out. "You can come back now." He followed her back inside.

"What side do you usually take?" she asked, nodding to the cot.

"Uh, the right side, but it doesn't matter."

"No, that's alright." She climbed onto the left side.

He removed his boots before blowing out the candle, plunging the tent into darkness and silence - the only sounds that could be heard were the jungle noise outside. The cot dipped a little when he climbed onto it from the other side. She scooted over until she was lying right at the very edge - if she rolled slightly, she would fall off.

The cot was just big enough for the two of them, _just_. She guessed from this that they usually slept close, and not spread out like they were now, both lying right at the very edge, almost falling off.

Should she say goodnight? Should she say anything? She tried to adjust her position - as she did, she kicked him. "Sorry!" This was followed moments later by her elbowing him. She winced. "Sorry..."

She heard him chuckle. "It's alright. Goodnight Terri."

"G-goodnight."

She still had his coat wrapped around her. She fell asleep wrapped in its warm embrace.

 _Careful Terri, there might be some bugs in that coat ;) haha! Awww, the start of some slightly awkward but nice moments to come! And don't worry, I know it's super awkward right now, but it will get less so and more flirty between them soon, I promise ;) Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed - oh and remember how I got excited that Bobby was in 'Ant-Man'? Well I couldn't help it and started writing a story with his character, so if you're interested please check it out, thanks!_


	13. Help Me Remember

Chapter Eleven - Help Me Remember

The next morning she awoke to sunlight and sounds of a bustling camp. Rising to a seated position she found that the other side of the cot and rest of the tent were empty so she guessed he was already up and about. She hesitated for a moment before reaching out and laying her hand on the empty side of the mattress - a warmth lingered, signalling he hadn't gotten up long ago.

Part of her wanted to get up and about as well, but another part of her wanted to be left alone. She went outside and she would have all the intimidating men to face, as well as him. Part of her was nervous about facing him again, but the other part was strangely eager.

Her curiosity eventually got the better of her. That, and she figured that he would eventually come in and check on her, so she got up and changed back into her shirt and vest and left the tent. She actually felt she had slept rather well, despite being in a still unfamiliar situation and lying next to a man who she was married to but didn't remember.

The camp was a busy place this morning, lots of chatter and tinkering about. This time, the men all seemed too busy with whatever they were doing to pay attention to her, for which she was thankful.

She wore his coat now, didn't just have it draped over her shoulders. He was taller than her so if it brushed the ground when he wore it it must look like a wedding dress train on her. That, and the sleeves sagged over her hands. Despite this though, it was comfortable. Comfortable and comforting.

She searched the faces for his and eventually found him sitting off to the side, isolating himself almost from the rest of the group. He was sitting at a small table, watching a few bugs skitter across the tabletop. He had a content look on his face, concentrated, almost like he was sharing a connection and conversing with them.

Then she remembered the animal-control. She had to admit - but only to herself - that it was pretty cool. This was her husband: intriguing, handsome, and had the ability to control animals, and she loved animals. Really, he was kind of perfect.

She almost felt strange interrupting and was about to turn away, her nerves suddenly getting the better of her now, until he looked up and saw her. The bugs skittered away and he rose to his feet. "Terri. Good morning."

"Morning."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, very well actually, thanks." She took a step forward but stumbled when she stepped on the hem of the coat, tripping slightly. He reached out to steady her, but she regained her balance. "I-I realized I never said 'thank you', for saving me. From the snake." Thank goodness he had come along, if not, the snake may very well have devoured her! This thought made her shudder. "I also wanted to give this back." She removed and held out his coat. "Thank you for letting me borrow it. It's a bit big on me." She chuckled and handed it back.

"Thank you." He took it back. "Are you hungry?"

It was then that she realized she hadn't eaten since yesterday. "Starving, actually."

Soon she was settled with a breakfast of biscuits and strong coffee, which she practically inhaled she was so hungry. It was still early morning and already the heat hung heavily over the camp.

"I think I might explore a bit around the camp, if that's alright," she said. "Try and refresh my memory."

He nodded. "Of course, take your time. Would you like me to come with you, or would you prefer to be alone?" He must have sensed her hesitance, for then he added. "I won't be offended if you'd rather be alone."

"I think I would, for now. Thanks. I think I need to do this on my own."

He nodded. "I understand. Don't hesitate to come find me if you need anything."

"B-but m-maybe after you could tell me a bit about us..." Her voice grew soft.

At this, he smiled, which made her heart flutter. "I'd love to." Judging by the look in his eyes, he had some stories to tell.

It was settled then. She first went back into the tent - _their_ tent she realized - to resume the exploration she had begun last night. She figured that was a good place to start. She went over and opened her trunk again, taking everything out and examining it all carefully.

There was mostly just clothes, but a few books, mostly on zoology, as well as a journal. Opening it, she found that it was like her diary. Perfect! She eagerly began to read:

 _My application was rejected again, I got another letter today. That's the third one. They still say the same thing: I don't have enough experience in the field to teach zoology. As always, Russell says not to let it discourage me. Sweetheart._

 _Russell and Bravestone are no longer working together anymore, and I honestly feel a little guilty - they had an argument today, Russell finally confronting him about what his problem towards me is. We've never gotten along very well, I've made an effort but he hasn't, and I don't know what or even if I did anything to make him dislike me. Russell says that's impossible, for anyone to dislike me. Easy for him to say, but it's sweet nonetheless._

 _Apparently Bravestone's begun his own lone search for the jewel, and now Russell's all anxious about it. He believes that since he started this search, he should finish it. Bravestone doesn't care about the jewel, he says, he just wants to try and beat Russell to it. It sounds rather competitive to me, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous._

 _Russell worked late again today, spent all day at the university. I'm getting a little worried about him, I think he's working himself too hard. He says he has a lead on the jewel - he's been researching it for years, even before we were married and before that. I'll keep a close eye on him - it's either he stays at the university, or he comes home and locks himself away in the study. It's not healthy._

 _I guess it really was a lead - Russell now believes he knows the location of the jewel, and he's hurriedly arranging an expedition to the jungles of Jumanji. He's hired a Jumanji field guide to lead the expedition. I'm actually rather looking forward to it - it'll be an adventure! I don't know how long we'll be gone, but it will be good for us to get out of the city and have a change of scenery for a while. It also might just be the perfect opportunity for me to get my field work requirement for becoming a zoologist - finally! Let's see them reject my application after that! And I hear that Jumanji is home to some rare species - maybe we'll encounter a few of them._

 _It's about a week until we're scheduled to leave - Russell suddenly expressed a concern about me coming along, says he's worried something will happen to me. I think he's overreacting. And besides, we've already made all the arrangements, and I don't want to give up this opportunity. And obviously I don't want to be stuck at home while he goes adventuring!_

She paused there, already feeling a bit overwhelmed. She'd read each entry slowly and carefully, fearful of missing something important. She decided to take a break and read the rest another time - better to take smaller steps and try and remember smaller pieces than everything all at once.

Again, she found herself rather eager to be in his company again, that and she eagerly awaited hearing what he had to say about them, he, her husband, the perfect source really. So with that, she left the tent in search of him.

When she found him he was staring at her - she'd caught him doing so all through breakfast. She lifted her hand in a little, shy wave which snapped him from his trance.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."

She smiled. "No, quite the opposite actually. You've made me feel very welcome here."

"You are welcome here, this is our home away from home on this journey."

"I hope I'm not in the way."

"You're not," he assured her.

"Will you tell me about us now?"

"Gladly. What would you like to know?"

"Everything."

He chuckled. "Alright."

"I hope that's not too bold of a request."

"Not at all."

They chatted for hours, over dinner, and then continuing on into the evening. By the end he had her laughing and joking along with him, and she felt much closer to him that she had. He told her that they had been together for six years, married for three of those years. They both taught as professors at the university in classrooms across the hall from each other, and that was how they had met. She wished she remembered.

He told her about his work studying the jewel and how it had brought them here. She didn't want him to stop, just wanted him to keep speaking fondly of their time together. Mostly, his words made her blush and smile - she was sitting with a man who evidently loved her very much, and she was beginning to see why she loved him too, and she felt like that was a great accomplishment.

"Well, that was certainly very informative," she said at the end of his story. "Thank you, that helped a lot."

"You're welcome, I'm glad."

"It is rather tiring though, trying to keep it all straight and remember, so I think I'm going to go to bed now."

"Alright, I'll be there in a little while." He leaned in to what she guessed was to kiss her goodnight, but then drew back again when he realized. She found herself to be almost disappointed, but she understood and accepted his thoughtfulness. Instead he said, "goodnight Terri."

"Goodnight - Russell."

 _Raises eyebrows, haha! ;) See, I told you it would start getting more romantic! ;) Whew, that chapter took me a little longer than I thought, and it was also longer, but that's alright! I didn't want it to feel too rushed between them, but then again they are married, she just can't remember, so I think it's okay! I hope you enjoyed and thanks so much for reading! :)_


	14. In My Heart, But Not In My Head

Chapter Twelve - In My Heart, But Not In My Head

The next morning when she rose from a deep sleep she found that she had shifted over considerably. She was rather comfortable and gave a content, groggy sigh as she snuggled closer. Glancing upward, she was met by his face, content in sleep, just above hers, hers which was pressed into his chest, her hand resting against his neck, fingertips slipped beneath the collar of his shirt.

Oh God...

She had rolled over in her sleep and right into his embrace without even noticing, and she guessed that he in his sleep had wrapped his arms around her. It had felt so natural to them both that neither even realized it.

With a yelp that startled him awake, she jumped out of his arms and, being the ever clumsy person she was, she fell back off the cot and onto the ground with a _thud_.

He sat bolt upright with a start, looking confused and disoriented, just as she was stumbling to her feet.

"What happened?" he cried.

"We were sleeping together!" she blurted. "Well not really - well, yes, but not like - oh never mind! I mean - we were cuddling..." Sure, she was definitely more comfortable around him now, but this was moving a little too quickly for comfort...

"Oh..."

"Yeah... I'm sorry, that was probably an overreaction. I just, wasn't expecting..." _Stop talking, stop talking right now! You've embarrassed yourself enough!_ The cuddling was kind of nice, to be perfectly honest, she just hadn't given herself much time to enjoy it before freaking out.

"I-I'm sorry..."

"For what?"

"Uh, waking you..." _Shut up!_ She was only making it worse. "And startling you... Sorry." Good Lord she was awkward. "Am I always this awkward around you?" She had to ask.

He chuckled. "No."

"Oh. Good." This was true though, she hadn't been this awkward last night when he was telling her about them. She would even say she had been a little flirty at times.

They met eyes for a moment before both laughing a little.

"Well, now that we're up-" He stood.

"Yeah..."

He was staring again. "Sorry. It's just - I'm worried you're not really here, that it's just my mind playing tricks, or the game messing with me."

"No, I'm really here. Well, mostly, still working on the memory part. And you were just holding me, so I'd say that's proof."

"True."

They both left the tent at the same time this morning. After both trying to step out at the same time and bumping shoulders, he gave a sweep of his arm and let her go first.

"AH!" As soon as she stepped out she was met by the vulture perched right above the tent. "I don't think that bird likes me." It squawked in reply as if to say "no."

After another simple breakfast, though this one filled with multiple shared glances between the two, Terri resumed her reading from yesterday, curling up with her journal by the fire pit. After his stories everything she had written now made a lot more sense, and she went back and re-read the previous entries as well.

 _We left for Jumanji today. Russell hired a band of mercenaries to assist us on the journey - there's a whole lot of them, easily fifty. Heck, he's got a whole army of them! I think he's overreacting, but he seems a little paranoid that something's going to happen on this quest. I'm not sure how I feel about this - they all seem pretty intimidating to me._

 _We arrived in Jumanji today - it's beautiful! As soon as we stepped off the ship I couldn't wait to begin exploring. We met our field guide, Nigel, who's lovely. We've already seen evidence of or actually seen so many different animals, I got so excited! I've made sure to have my pencil and notebook ready to record everything!_

 _Russell surprised me last night and took me to the bazaar where we spent the night at the inn there. He said he wanted to have some 'us' time, time to ourselves._

Although she couldn't remember what it was she had written about, she was pretty sure she knew how that night had gone. She felt her entire body grow hot and she quickly turned to the next entry.

 _I'm really starting to think this jewel doesn't exist - I haven't written in a little while and it's because it's all the same: frustration and arguments. Russell keeps getting more and more frustrated which isn't good, he doesn't need all that stress. Not to mention it's putting a strain on us; we keep getting into arguments, and I'm becoming awfully homesick. He just won't accept that it's not real - I think it's safe to say he's obsessed with finding it. Luckily we have Nigel, who's as chipper as ever. Though I think even he's beginning to get discouraged._

That was the final entry. It must have been right before her disappearance. Terri sat back and thought about all she had read, trying to turn the words into images. _Come on, remember, you can do it._

"Did the reading help?" Russell joined her.

"A little, I think. I still only have blurred, vague images, nothing's clear - yet. I'm trying not to lose hope." Then she thought of something. "Can I see your ring?"

He removed his glove and showed her - it was a simple silver band.

She held up her own hand next to his. "They go nicely together."

"Yes, they do."

"Will you tell me more about us?"

He thought for a moment. "I think I've told you everything, I'm afraid."

"Tell me something again."

He was more than happy to oblige and launched back into his storytelling. Soon though, she found that she had tuned him out and was lost just looking at him. It got dark pretty early here, so they lit a fire - the way the flames flickered across his tan face, casting shadows across his hair, and those eyes... She hoped that even when her memory returned she would still get lost in his eyes, but something told her she would. She didn't know where it came from, this feeling, but suddenly she wanted to-

 _Kiss him._ She blushed with this realization.

Something deep inside her was urging her. All these feelings for him she may not recognize, but they were starting to feel right. She knew in her heart, just not in her head. And wasn't that what mattered?

Running with it, she began to lean in, and the next thing she knew, he had stopped talking and his lips met hers in a kiss, one full of passion, of longing, one that was only becoming more and more heated. The thrill was like experiencing your first kiss all over again, or, what she imagined of course.

He cupped her face in his hands, deepening the kiss. She was just reaching up to hold his hand when the realization of what she had done struck her, and she pulled away mid-kiss.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment, thinking he had made her uncomfortable.

"No, no it's not your fault." Now she was ashamed. That had been so cruel of her. "I-I'm so sorry. That was thoughtless of me, I don't know what came over me." First the morning cuddles, now this. Was it her memory, desperately trying to make her remember? Or was it just the game wanting her to make a fool out of herself for its amusement?

She glanced around - thankfully it seemed that the men were too busy going about their own business to have seen them snogging. Good, she was already embarrassed enough.

She was on her feet before she even realized. "Perhaps I should go..." She didn't want to, but - ugh, she just wished she would bloody remember! What made it worse was that she felt she was so close to remembering, so close, but she still couldn't. "I feel like I'm taunting you by being here and I'm just sort of a burden, and-"

He jumped to his feet. "Please, don't go. Don't leave. I don't know what I would do if I lost you again."

"It's not fair though-"

"I would rather have you here, trying to remember, than not at all. At least then I know you're safe."

She nodded slowly. "I feel safe here."

"You _are_ safe here."

There was a pause.

"How long was I gone for?"

"Months. Long, excruciating months."

Months. To him, she'd been gone months, for her, she'd been gone years. That familiar painful ache settled again deep in her chest, that longing to be here. But now that she was here, she couldn't remember, and she could no longer tell what that ache was for. But she was pretty sure she knew now.

"It just seemed like that kiss had been long waited for."

"It was."

"I'm sorry, again."

"Please don't be, it's not your fault."

She smiled a little. "Thank you. Goodnight." She pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek before disappearing inside their tent.

 _Yay, they're making progress! ;) What do you think so far? We'll catch up with the others in the next chapter - whew, this parallel storyline thing is fun but tricky, trying to keep everything aligned in time! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! And thank you for all the reviews too! :)_


	15. What is This Game!

Chapter Thirteen - What is This Game?!

The next morning they got a bit of an earlier start - if the game wanted them to play by its rules, they had best not waste any time.

"Anything Bethany?" Spencer called.

"Almost there." She was in the lead once again, pouring over the map.

"Yeah, sure," muttered Fridge.

"No, really! See, it says, _The Mighty Roar-_ "

The drums started then, drawing everyone to a sharp halt and snapping their gazes up to the sky. Then they cut out as suddenly as they had started.

"I don't like that," declared Fridge after a beat of silence. "I'm done!"

Spencer ignored him. "Okay Bethany, which way?"

"Uh, well, right here I think-"

BOOM! CRASH!

The whole group jumped and yelped as something flew past their faces and exploded only mere meters away.

"What the he-" Sawyer began, but was cut off when a motorcycle appeared out of nowhere and drove straight at them. And it wasn't alone - at least a dozen more came roaring down the hill after it - all towards them.

"What is this game?!" yelled Fridge.

"RUN!" But everyone was already way ahead of Spencer. Soon the whole group was tearing down the hill as fast as their legs would carry them.

"Come on legs!" cried Fridge as everyone passed by him. "WHY AM I RUNNING SO SLOW?!"

"This sucks!" yelled Bethany as they ran into the trees, the motorcycles still in hot pursuit.

"Split up!"

Bethany and Martha went one way, and Spencer, Sawyer, and Fridge all went the other.

"Those guys have huge guns!" Spencer hissed as the trio ducked behind some bushes for cover.

"Oh really? Is that what those are Spencer?" Fridge hissed back.

"Hey, your backpack!"

"Yeah don't remind me-"

"No, you have my weapons!"

Now Fridge understood. "Oh, oh yeah. Let's see what we've got-" He reached into the pack and withdrew a wooden object. "What the-"

"Boomerang!" Spencer grabbed it out of his hand excitedly. "It's one of my strengths! Here, watch this." Drawing his arm back he then launched the boomerang at the group of bikes who had followed the three. It sailed smoothly past them, disappearing into the trees and alerting the bikers of their presence.

"Now what?!" Fridge cried as the chase hastily resumed. "Now what Spencer?! You want me to look in here and see if I have a hacky sack that you can do absolutely nothing with-"

"DUCK!" Sawyer's shout saved the group as, right then, Spencer's boomerang appeared again, whipping over their heads and taking out the group of bikes.

Spencer couldn't believe it. "Whoa! It worked!"

Sawyer laughed. "It sure did! Think you can do that again?"

They ducked behind another patch of bushes when more motorcycles appeared. They just kept coming!

"Come on, we've gotta go-" Spencer began sneaking away.

"I can't outrun those guys!" cried Fridge. "You two have speed on your side."

Right. The two exchanged a glance. "Uh - oh, here, get on my back," Spencer offered.

Fridge just stared back. "Oh hell no!"

"I'll carry you, come on-"

"I would rather die!" Fridge declared.

"Just get on his back!" cried Sawyer.

"Oh nope, I'm gonna die-" The bikers were coming. The two took off again, Spencer throwing Fridge on his back and piggybacking him despite his protests, which didn't stop.

"Ahhh! SPENCER PUT ME DOWN!"

"There's Martha and Bethany!" called Sawyer. Why had they stopped running? They were still being chased. It quickly became clear though: the chase had taken them to a cliff's edge.

It wasn't extremely high, and there was water below, but it still wasn't an appealing option.

It was, however, their only option.

"We have to jump," Martha cried.

"Are you crazy?!" screeched Bethany.

"I would literally rather do anything else right now," said Spencer.

"We don't have a choice!"

"No!"

"We have to - JUMP!" With that, Martha was gone. She fell down into the water below with a _splash!_

"MARTHA!" Bethany followed suit.

Sawyer went next. "Spencer jump!" yelled Fridge. Spencer tried to protest, but the next thing he knew Fridge had pushed him off the cliff and both went plunging down, Fridge still on his back.

It turned out that this had been a successful way out of the chase, for the motorcycles finally left them alone. As they sped away back into the jungle, the shaken group was hauling themselves out of the water.

"Guys, I've taken in a lot of water-" Spencer was spluttering while Fridge yelled at him.

"That was the most humiliating moment of my life! Don't you do that again - ever!"

"Oh my God - Martha-" Sawyer cried when she caught sight of Martha's bloody chest. She'd been shot.

"T-they got me-" Sawyer jumped when, suddenly, Martha vanished from her side.

"W-what?" No one knew what to do or say.

"What just happened to her?"

"Did she die? Is she dead?!"

"Wait a second-" Spencer looked up to the sky. There was the ringing sound again and moments later Martha made a swift landing - right on top of Fridge.

"HEY! Get off of me!"

"Martha! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so-" She stumbled off of Fridge.

"Hey! Anybody care if I'm okay?!" demanded Fridge as he awkwardly got to his feet from where Martha had knocked him down. "What am I, a human landing-pack?"

Spencer reached out to inspect Martha's wrist. "That's what I thought. These tattoos on our arms are our life count. We each have three lives guys."

"W-what happens if we lose all of our lives?" Martha asked.

"Well usually in a game that would mean game over..."

"Game over? Wait, are you saying we can actually die in here?!" cried Fridge.

"I-I don't know..."

"You don't know Mr. Video Game Genius?!"

"Well I've never been stuck in one okay! But yes, I think, if we're not careful, we could die here. That's my main concern right now."

"Well we'd better find the missing piece then," Martha announced.

"It looks like there's a village a ways up ahead," Bethany said, once again consulting the map. "That must be the bazaar."

"Let's go then."

"Wait," called Fridge. "I've got to take a leak first."

There was silence amongst the group until Bethany sighed. "I've been dreading this all day, but so do I."

 _Haha, we all know how that goes ;) I realized I forgot to mention the life-tattoos before - sorry guys! And sorry for the delay - I'm back now from my summer course so (hopefully) there will be more regular updates now (we have another Van Pelt and Terri chapter coming up next ;)) As always thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoyed! :)_


	16. Memories

Chapter Fourteen - Memories

The memories wove themselves into her dreams, a jumble of non-linear memories all following a different timeline. At least at first. Soon however, they became linear...

 _It was a rainy London morning. The university campus was speckled in umbrellas bobbing as people made their way across the courtyard._

 _The two walked hand-in-hand to work like they always did._

 _"I will see you later, Professor," he said._

 _"Yes, have a good morning, Professor," she replied._

 _They chuckled and shared a kiss before parting and both going their separate ways into their classrooms. Time for another day._

 _Both were highly-acclaimed professors at the university - there were long lists of students waiting to get into the already full animal kingdom and animal biology classes with Professor Ross, and there were lists just as long for classes on archaeology and exploration with Professor Van Pelt._

 _Their classrooms were right across the hall from each other, which was how they had met. The head of the department introduced them and they were instantly charmed by each other. It had taken a great amount of courage for him to cross that hall and finally ask her if she would like to go out with him - now, six years later, he was still convinced it was the best decision he had ever made. She may not be his beloved Terri otherwise._

 _..._

 _"This arrived for you." Russell brought a letter for Terri to her classroom._

 _"Thank you." She took and inspected it. "Oh! It's about my application. Let's see, I've a fifty-fifty chance: acceptance, or another rejection. Which will it be this time around? What is it they say? Third time's the charm?"  
_

 _Both waited expectantly as she tore open the envelope and produced the letter. She cleared her throat before reading aloud. "'Dear Professor Theresa Ross. Thank you for your application. After careful consideration of your application-'" Here she trailed off, and her voice notably changed. "-'We have decided, due to your lack of field experience, that we will set your application aside for now and search for someone who better fits our requirements. Thank you again for applying, and do try again next time.'" There was a silent moment of defeat as she folded up the letter again and returned it to the envelope. She chuckled half-heartedly. "Well, I guess it's not always third time's the charm."_

 _"I'm sorry, Love."_

 _She gave him a small smile. "Thanks."_

 _"Don't let it discourage you."_

 _"That's what you say every time."_

 _"And every time you try again."_

 _..._

 _Bravestone was just leaving Russell's office when Terri appeared in the doorway._

 _"Oh, hi Bravestone," she greeted._

 _He responded much less cheerfully, giving her a brief nod before brushing past and leaving the office._

 _Terri stood for a moment before going to join Russell over at his desk. "I don't think he likes me very much."_

 _Russell looked up from the papers he was marking. "Nonsense."_

 _"Well, it seems that way."_

 _"Impossible." He remained firm._

 _"You're sure you're not just saying that because you're my husband?"_

 _"Of course not! Maybe he's just jealous that for once a woman favoured me over him."_

 _"Russell!"_

 _"What, it's true." He smiled, but she still looked unsure. "Hey, don't let it bother you. His loss."_

...

 _The partners were in the middle of having an argument when there came a knock at the door and a smiling Terri peeked her head in._ _"Am I interrupting something?"_

 _"Yes-"_

 _"No Darling, come on in." Russell waved her in._

 _The argument ceased, but now Bravestone gave a frustrated sigh._

 _Anger from the argument fueled Russell's next words. "You might try to be nice to my wife for once." This was met by tense silence._

 _Terri's face fell. "Oh no, please, I don't want to be a source of dispute between you-"_

 _"Well it's too late for that," said Bravestone._

 _She was about to retort, but Russell jumped in ahead of her. "_ _What did she ever do to you? You haven't been nice to her once."_

 _"She's distracting you-"_

 _"Distracting me?" Russell scoffed. Terri was quickly growing uncomfortable. "Well I'm sorry you don't have a home life to go back to."_

 _"Russell!" she cried._

 _"Okay, now you're stepping out of line-"_

 _"Unlike you, I don't let work consume my life."_

 _Now both men were approaching each other. Despite Russell being rather tall himself, Bravestone towered over him - he seemed to tower over everyone. Terri could see his fists clenching at his sides - he looked ready to throw a punch and the victim would surely be Russell._

 _"Stop, please stop-" She jumped in between them and turned to the taller man. "Bravestone, maybe it's best if you leave-"_

 _"She's right," Russell agreed. "Get the hell out of my office."_

 _Glaring down at the couple once more, Bravestone turned and left, for good this time._

 _"Good riddance," Russell mumbled under his breath. Terri had one hand on his arm and the other on his chest, and she could feel the tension coursing through him. It faded some once Bravestone was gone, but not all the way._

 _"I'm sorry, Love."_

 _He shook his head, placing his hand over hers on his arm. "It was growing increasingly tense between us. Maybe it's for the best."_

...

 _A few months later, Russell came home from work in a panic._

 _"He's going after the bloody jewel-" He practically threw off his coat and didn't even bother with his shoes as he dashed into his study, zipping past Terri who almost dropped the plate of their dinner she had just pulled out of the oven. Leaving it to cool and removing her apron and oven mitts she followed him to his study. He was already seated at the desk, frantically flipping through papers._

 _"What happened?"_

 _"He's after the jewel!"_

 _"Who?"_

 _"Bravestone."_

 _"Oh-"_

 _"He's putting together a team - this is my work, I started it. I'm not going to let him finish it and take credit for it like he did with everything else."_

 _A few weeks later there was an article in the newspaper:_ WORLD FAMOUS ARCHAEOLOGIST AT IT AGAIN. _It described how after a brief break, the legendary Dr. Bravestone had returned to the field, new team and all._

 _The couple were just sitting down to morning tea. Russell took one look at the article before tearing it from the rest of the paper, crumpling it up, and tossing it across the room, it sailing past Terri who was just coming in with the teapot._

 _"I was going to read that," she said, gesturing to the now half-torn newspaper. He only grumbled in response. She picked up the crumpled page and scanned it. "Looks like quite the group he's gathered: a commando, a pilot and mechanic team, a professor, a marksman, and oh - a zoologist!"_ _He gave a frustrated sigh at her enthusiasm._ _"Well, luckily he's not the jewel expert. You are."_

 _And thus began the obsession with finding the jewel. He saw it as a race, one that he had to win._

 _"It's not a competition," she would constantly remind him._

 _"I can't let him get to it first. I'm the one who's done all the research. It wouldn't be fair."_

 _She saw his point. "No, it wouldn't be."_

 _A couple of weeks after that she was going over some notes for her next lecture when the door to her classroom suddenly flew open, making her jump._

 _Russell stood there, a huge smile on his face. "I've got a lead! I'm a step ahead of Bravestone!"_

 _"How do you mean?"_

 _He grinned. "Pack your bags, my darling. We're going to Jumanji!"_

* * *

 _Sorry it's taken me so long, but here's the chapter that I've been excited for (this way, we get a glimpse of their life outside the game storyline :)). There'll be another memory sequence the next time we catch up with Terri and Van Pelt too (it'll be romantic ;))!_

 _I was having a bit of difficulty because I've decided to add a major plot point, and character, part way through now - this is why I really need to outline everything before I start writing, haha! But hopefully it won't be too much trouble to add, so that's what I'll be working on :)_

 _Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!_


End file.
